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AN IMPERIAL RUSSIAN ORMOLU, CRYSTAL, RUBY AND CLEAR GLASS EIGHTEEN-LIGHT CHANDELIER ATTRIBUTED TO JOHANN ZEKH, LATE 18TH CENTURY The ruby glass vase-form corona issuing abundant ormolu rushes, each hung with cut-glass drops, above a baluster glass stem and fluted circular frame issuing scrolling branches terminating in foliate drip pans and sockets, stiff leaves, and cut-glass prisms, all hung with pendant drops, terminating in a pinecone boss, some losses and replacements 62 in. (158 cm.) high; 46 in. (117 cm.) diameter
Intricately designed as a flowing fountain with cascades of crystal drops, the present chandelier is a rare survival of the outstanding pieces of neoclassical decorative arts produced in Russia in the late 18th century. Necessary decorative focal-points in any interior, these so-called 'Catherine' chandeliers differed from continental examples in their delicacy, lightness and innovative design. These hugely expensive creations were the preserve of the uppermost strata of society: in this case, the Imperial family. The present chandelier probably belongs to a group of chandeliers supplied to the Imperial household by the Russian bronzier Johann Zekh for Tsar Paul I’s new residence in St. Petersburg, St. Michael’s Castle. Upon his death, it is thought to have been moved to the palace of Pavlovsk, where it was photographed hanging in the bedroom of the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The chandelier remained at Pavlovsk until sold by the Bolshevik government in the aftermath of the revolution in 1917.
JOHANN ZEKH
Thanks to the comprehensive research of Igor Sytchev (conservator of decorative bronzes at the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) a number of repeated characteristics can now be firmly associated with specific artists, enabling the establishment of well-founded attributions. In its overall design and use of distinctive ruby glass, this chandelier can firmly be attributed to the oeuvre of Johann Zekh of St. Petersburg. A native of Geman origin, Zekh established his workshop in the Russian capital in 1795, where he appears listed in the records of the guild of bronziers. By the late 1790s, his name became synonymous with the creation of the most outstanding chandeliers in Russia, noted in the St. Petersburg Journal as one of the greatest masters of the specialty.
Following his delivery of a lantern-chandelier in 1796 for the apartments of the grand-duke Alexander Pavlovitch at the Winter Palace, he was awarded his second commission by the Imperial Cabinet (on 13 October of the same year), to supply eight monumental chandeliers for the throne room (known as the salle Saint-Georges). By the time of Empress Catherine’s death in November 1796, three such chandeliers had been completed and accepted by her successor Tsar Paul I, who had them moved to the St. Michael’s Castle (his new residence in the city), and then to the palace at Tsarskoie Selo, where the chandeliers remain today.
ZEKH’S COMMISSIONS FOR ST. MICHAEL’S CASTLE
Zekh is known to have supplied a total of 21 chandeliers of 14 different models, and 6 lanterns of varying sizes for Tsar Paul I’s St. Michael’s Castle, built between 1798 and 1801 and decorated in the most luxurious and advanced taste. Zekh chandeliers followed different designs: some had shafts in coloured glass, others in cut-crystal in the English manner, and others in white opaline glass reminiscent of porcelain, intricately hung with flower chains and drops (see illustrated). It is interesting to note that despite the Emperor’s extensive commissions of French decorative bronzes for his new residence, which included 55 clocks, 100 pairs of candelabra and 28 ‘meubles d’apparat’ delivered in twelve instalments between June 1798 and October 1799, only five chandeliers and two lanterns were commissioned from France. This demonstrates the recognized quality and high esteem held for